parity bit

parity bit

n. Computer Science

A bit added to a binary code that indicates parity and is used to check the integrity of data.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

parity bit - (computer science) a bit that is used in an error detection procedure in which a 0 or 1 is added to each group of bits so that it will have either an odd number of 1's or an even number of 1's; e.g., if the parity is odd then any group of bits that arrives with an even number of 1's must contain an error check bit, parity computer science, computing - the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures bit - a unit of measurement of information (from binary + digit); the amount of information in a system having two equiprobable states; "there are 8 bits in a byte"